Collapsible box



May l, 1945. Y R, s, MCCONNELL l 2,375,123

coLLAPsIBLE Box .Filed April 29, v1943 s sheets-sheet 1 GOOD:

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May l, 1945 A R. s. MccoNNELl. v 2,375,123

coLLAPsIBLE Box Filed April 29, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 DASW-cyonnll www Patented May 1, 1945 UNITED STATE #ArtNr OFFICE COLLAPSIBLE. yBX

Ralph S. McConnell, Portsmouth, Va. Application April 29, 1943, Serial No. 485,053

1 v Claim.

' This invention relates to collapsible boxes.

An object of this invention is to provide a collapsible box'which may be made out of either plywood or lumber, and which is so constructed and arranged that in collapsed form all of the parts are retained together so that the parts will not become lost during shipment.

Another object of this invention is to provide a collapsible box or receptacle including side, top, bottom and end walls which are all hingedly secured together, the opposite sides, top and bottom walls having metal bands secured thereto, and each band including hingedly connected'sections with at least one section removable from the remaining sections so that the top wall may be either swung upwardly to an open position or may be completely detached to facilitate lling or emptying the box.

A further ob-ject of this invention is to provide a container of this type wherein the hinge barrels do not project outwardly of the adjacent walls of thecontainer so that when the containers are stacked one upon another the upper containers will rest upon the bands of the lower containers, and the barrels of the hinges of one container will not damage the walls `ofan adjacent container.

A further object of this invention is Ato providev a container of this type which is capable of holding a considerable weight of material, with the material either loose or compressed, the container being so constructed that if the material is to be compressed the top wallumay be cornpletely removed and the container placed in a suitable form and press, and when the material has been compressed to the desired degree thev top wall may be secured to the container.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved means for retaining the end walls of the container in position, each end wall being coupled to the side walls by meansk of 'a pair of hinges having removable pintles, and each end wall being swingable inwardly against a side wall when the container is collapsed.

vWith the foregoing objects and others which may hereinafter appear, the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and ar-vy rangement of parts as will be more specifically referred to and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein are shown embodiments of the invention, but it is to be understood that changes, modications and variations may be resorted to which fall Within the scope of the invention as claimed:

` In the drawings:

Figure l is a detail side elevation of'a collapsible box or container constructed according to an embodiment of this invention,

Figure 2 is an end elevation ofthe container,

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken longitudinally through the container,

Figure 4 is a sectional'view taken on the line l-ll of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view through the top and one side wall,

Figure 6 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken substantially on the line '6 6 of Figure 3,

Figure 7 is a plan View of the container in collapsed position,

Figure 8 is an end elevation of a modified of end Wall, and

Figure 9 is a sectional View taken on the line 9 9 of Figure 8. l

Referring to the drawings, the numeral Hl designates generally a container vor box of collapsible form which is constructed of opposite side walls Il, a top wall I2, a bottom wall I3 and opposite end walls lli. The top, bottom and side walls are of like form and may be constructed of either plywood or lumber.v These walls are constructed of a rectangular body l5 which has secured on the inner side thereof and at the opposite ends a pair of transversely eX- tending cleats I6. The cleats I6 are mitered at their opposite ends-as indicated at Il! so lthat when the container is in assembled condition,- the ends of the cleats will abut against each other as shown more clearly in Figure 2. The cleats or bracing members I6 are adapted to be secured to the wall I5 by means of nails or other suitable fastening members I3, and the cleats IE form flanges or abutments against which the end walls lll are adapted to engage. `The end walls i4 are positioned innermost and, as shown in Figure 2, the end walls may be formed'with aplurality of openings i9 to permit air to enter the container.

The four walls, that is, the top, bottom and opposite side walls of the container are hingedly connected' together by means of straps 2U, 2l and 22. The straps 26 and 2l are, end straps engaging about the ends of the walls, whereas the strap form 22 is an intermediate strap. The straps are of- .ends a hinge barrel 3|.

The portion 28 includes irmer and outer leaf members 29 and 30 having formed at their outer The adjacent end ofthe strap section 23 is interposed between the two leaf members 29 and 30 and iirmly secured therebetween by means of a rivet or other fastening of the top wall I2, as shown more clearly in Figure 5.

The strap section 24 comprises an elongated strap which is secured by fastening members 36 to the outer side of the side wall II and the upper end of the strap 35 is interposed between inner and outer leaf members 31 and 38 forming a hinge section 39 correlated with the hinge section 33. The upper end of the strap 35 is riveted between the leaves 31 and 38 by means of a rivet 40, and a nail or other fastening member 4I secures the leaf section 39 to the adjacent portion of the side wall I I.

'I'he lower end of the strap 3'5 is turned back or reverted as shown in Figure 2 thereby forming i one portion 42 of a lower hinge member. The hinge section 42 includes an outer leaf 43, an inner leaf 44 and a hinge barrel 45. The two leaves 43 and 44 are riveted or otherwise secured together by means of a fastening member 4B and a nail or other fastening member `41 extends through the two leaves 43 and 44 and into the side wall I I.. The barrel 45 has mounted therein a loop 48. The loop 48 also engages in a barrel 49 carried by a lowerA hinge section 50 which is secured to the bottom wall I3. The hinge section 50 forms an integral part of one end of the lower strap section 25 and is' constructed in every detail similar to the hinge section 42.

The opposite end of the lower `or bottom strap section 25 is also formed with a hinge portion 5|,V

similar in every detail to the hinge4 portion 42. A loop 52 engages through the barrel 53 of the hinge portion 5| and also engages through the barrel 54 of an adjacent hinge member 55. The

cured between the inner and outer leaves 56 and 51 of an upper hinge section 58. A rivet or other fastening member 59 iirmly secures the upper end of the strap section 26 between the leaves and 51. The hinge sections 28 and 58 are detachably connected together by means of a removable pintle 60. As shown in Figure 2, the barrel 3| of the hinge section 28 engages in a cutout or recess 6I formed in the adjacent edge of the top wall I2. The barrel 62 of the hinge section 58 projects above the upper edge of the adjacent side wall III and projects inwardly into the recess BI so that when the top wall I2 is coupled to lthe adjacent side wall II the hinge barrels 3| and 62 will not project above the top wall I2 or laterally of the adjacent side wall II. The opposite edge of the top wall I2 is also cut out as indicated at `|53 to receive the barrels of the hinge sections 33 and 39. K

The end walls I4 are of like form and each is constructed of a polygonal wall member which may be formed of either plywood or lumber. The end wall I4 is adapted to abut against the inner sides of the cleats or flanges I6, as shown in Figure 3. In.order to provide for the ready collapse of the container and for the retention of the end walls I 4 with an adjacent side wall, each end wall I4 is connected to the adjacent side walls by means of a pair of hinges 64. The hinge '64 includes one hinge section B5 which is secured by fastening member 66 to a side wall II. A complementary hinge section 61 is secured by fastening members 68 to the inner side of the end Wall I4. There are only two hinges for each end wall |-4 and these hinges are disposed adjacent the upper edges of the end walls and the adjacent side Walls.

The hinge sections 65 and 61 are detachably connected together by means of a removable pintle I|59. Preferably the pintle 69 is substantially smaller in diameter than the inner diameter of the barrels of the hinge sections, thereby providing a slight play or movement permissible between the end wall I4 and the adjacent side wall II. This play is desirable in View of the fact that when the container is in collapsed form, only one pintle 69 is removed from the pair of hinges on the end wall and the end wall is then swung inwardly against the inner side of the adjacent side Wall. f

- In order to facilitate the swinging inwardly of the end wall i4 the adjacent vertical edge may becut away, as indicated at 1G, in Figure 6, so that the adjacent vertical edge of the end wall I4 will clear the inner side of the adjacent cleat or flange I6 of the side wall I I. The bottom wall I3 is provided adjacent the opposite ends and inwardly from the bottom cleats I6 with inner blocks 1I which are `secured by fastening members 12 to the bottom wall I3 inwardly from the adjacent cleat I6. The end wall I4 is adapted to engage between the block 1I and the adjacent inner side of the bottom cleat.

' In the assembly of the box, the opposite side walls I I may be raised to a Vertical position with the lower edges of the side walls I I resting on the inner sides of the bottom wall I3, as shown in Figure 4. The end walls I4 may then be inserted between the block 1I and the end cleat I6 secured to the bottom wall I3, and the pintle 69 of each hinge is then inserted in the aligning barrels of the hinge sections 55 and 56. It will be assumed at his time that the top wall I2 is completely detached from the side walls by removal of the pintles 59. The container may then be lled with the desired material and where this material is to be compressed, the container may be put in a form which Will prevent breaking of the container under the compressing force. After the material has been compressed to the 'desired degree, the top I2 may be secured in place by replacing the pintles 69.

When it is desired to collapse the container, the pintles on oneedge of the top Wall I2 may I be removed and one pintle B9 of each pair of I4 will be swung inwardly with the remaining l hinge as a pivot. If desired or if thecontainer in collapsed form is too long to be conveniently shipped as laid out in Figure 7, the top and one side wall Il may be swung in overlying position to the bottom and the other side wal1 Ii, the top I2 resting on one side wall Il and the other side wall il resting on the outer side of the bottom wall I3.

In Figure 9 there is disclosed a modied form of end Wall, generally designated as 13. This end wall 'i3 is constructed of a pair of vertical boards il having secured thereto upper and lower horizontal boards 75 and 16, respectively, and intermediate horizontal boards 11. The boards l? are spaced from the upper and lower boards lli and 16 so as to provide a perforate or slatted end wall. The several boards making up the end wall 'i3 are rmly secured together by means of nails or other fastening members 18. It will be understood that the modied form of end wall shownin Figures 8 and 9 will have secured thereto the upper hinge sections B5 for detachableconnec tion with the hinge sections for the end Walls which are carried by the side Walls Il.

Thel container hereinbefore described is con structed as a collapsible container which in collapsed forrn can be readily returned to the shipper with the container in its collapsed form occupying only a minimum amount of space. The return charges for freight on the collapsed container are relatively smaller so that the use of this collapsed container will be practical and economical to a shipper.

Furthermore, the use of this collapsible container will be economical as a container of this type can be. very sturdily built in order to withstand rough handling when either lled or in collapsed form. In addition, the construction of a container of this type out of plywood will great- 1y reduce the weight of the container itself and thereby reduce the return freight charges. As will be noted from Figure 7 of the drawings, the various parts of the container are iirmly held together when the container is in collapsed form with the only exception of the two pintles for the disconnected hinge sections for the two end walls. In other respects all of the partsof the container will be held together when the latter is in collapsed form thereby assuring the reassembling of the complete container whenr it has been returned to the shipper. y

It will, of course, be understood that various materials may be placed in this container, and where the materials require, the container may be made with perforate end walls, or in other instances, the Vend walls maybe imperforate- As an example, the container may be used for shipment of tobacco which may be compressed into the container, or the container may be used for minerals or other loose material.

What I claim is:

A collapsible container comprising top, bottom, oppositeside and opposite end walls, inwardly projecting cleats at the opposite ends of said top, bottom and side walls, said end walls abutting against the inner faces of said cleats, a pair of blocks secured to the inner face of said bottom wall inwardly of said cleats and adapted to abut against the inner faces of each of said end walls to thereby hold said end walls against inward movement, each end wall being secured to the opposite side walls only by a pair of detachable hinge members having pintles securing the upper end portion of each end wall to the inner faces of said side walls whereby removal of the pintle of one hinge will permit swinging of an end wall against the opposite side wall, each end wall having the outer vertical edge thereof eut away whereby said end wall may be swung inwardly against an adjacent side wall, and means hingedly securing said tcp, bottom and side walls together, said hinge means including inwardly projecting barrels thereby providing smooth outer surfaces, said side and top walls being formed with recesses within which said barrels are adapted to engage. i

RALPH S. MCCONNELL. 

